Sugar comes from a plant so it is definitely a “natural” food. Some other “natural” foods that we like to avoid are high-fructose corn syrup (from corn) and white flour (from wheat). What all of these have in common is that, aside from being natural, they are so highly refined and processed that the good stuff is stripped away leaving mostly empty calories. Here’s a little more about our decision to avoid sugar and other refined sweeteners – Mini-Pledge Week 9: No Refined Sweeteners.

When we are at home I estimate that we eat 95%+ real food. Since our pledge ended we’ve incorporated a once-a-week “special treat.” This could be anything from a homemade chocolate cake to a donut from Krispy Kreme, although I do try hard to steer my family away from artificial ingredients and food dyes no matter what. With that being said, we do believe moderation is key so we most certainly let our daughters participate in school celebrations, birthday parties, and other events that often involve junk food.

Have you noticed any health-related changes since your switch to real food?

Yes! We switched to real food because we thought it was the right thing to do. What we did not expect was for our youngest daughter’s constipation and asthma to completely disappear. We were equally surprised by how much my HDL level increased (a.k.a. the “good” cholesterol that should be a high number), which jumped up by 50%! I also feel like I have more energy (no more afternoon slumps), and my husband and I both lost a couple of pounds without even trying. For more details check out this link: Our personal changes in health.

What kind of milk does your family drink?

We’ve switched both our type of milk and source for our milk a couple of times over the last year. We currently drink the least processed type of milk available in North Carolina (where raw milk is illegal). We buy Homestead Creamery’s non-homogenized whole milk in half gallon glass bottles from Earth Fare. Since switching to whole milk we’ve also been working to reduce our consumption.

What kind of cheese do you buy that is “real food” approved?

When it comes to cheese we go for blocks of cheese that are organic and preferably from grass-fed cows (if we can find it). The pre-shredded stuff contains an anti-caking agent (to prevent it from sticking together) which is a little too powdery for our taste. Also, most cheese is actually supposed to be white so even though the orange coloring is natural and probably a harmless additive I like to stick with white cheese just to make a point. :)

I see that your family enjoys foods like cream cheese and boxed whole-wheat pasta, but aren’t those processed?

Actually even cooking is technically a form of “processing” or changing your food. So since we are not on a raw food diet I guess you could say we avoid all “highly processed” foods, which we define as having more than 5 (or any refined) ingredients. Check out our real food rules for the full list.

Is there anywhere that you can shop without having to read labels and scrutinize the ingredients?

Unfortunately, no. But the closest you can get is a growers only Farmer’s Market. At a growers only market all of the produce and meat will be locally grown/raised. There are a surprising number of farmer’s markets out there that allow third party vendors to sell you anything from Chilean blueberries to Florida oranges (which is of course okay if you actually live in Florida!). But even growers only markets have local “bakers” that use their fair share of white flour and sugar so you still have to ask questions. We also like to ask our local farmers if they use any chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers on their offerings because we prefer to eat foods that are as organic as possible, even if they are not USDA certified organic.

Where else do you shop for food?

Well, first of all – I must recommend my new book of course! It’s part cookbook and part guidebook. The book that originally inspired us to switch to “real food” is In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Two other books I highly recommend are Food Rulesalso by Michael Pollan andFood Mattersby Mark Bittman. I also highly recommend watching the documentary Food, Inc.

How do you deal with eating at someone else’s house when they don’t exactly follow a “real food” diet?

It can be tricky to try to eat a certain way without offending your host. For us, taking our “100 Days of Real Food” pledge was a great conversation starter as to what we were doing and why. I am not saying everyone around us fully understood or agreed, but at least they knew about it. :) During our pledge we did not have any flexibility at all so for the most part we either brought our own food wherever we went (and people were thankful because it meant they didn’t have to figure out what feed us) or we ate beforehand. Now that our pledge is over we have more flexibility so we pretty much just eat what is offered especially since it doesn’t happen everyday. We might still sometimes eat a little beforehand or bring a few key food items with us when we travel (like good whole-wheat bread, granola, and tortillas), but for the most part we just go with the flow. But I will say that after watching us complete our real food pledge, it’s no surprise to our friends and family if we suddenly decide to bring something special along to the next BBQ (like our own organic, grass-fed, nitrite-free, dye-free beef hot dogs)!

What kind of oils do you use for cooking and baking?

For baking we mainly use butter and unrefined coconut oil. For stove-top cooking we either use olive oil (cold pressed if I can find it), organic butter (preferably from grass-fed cows), ghee (a.k.a. clarified butter because it does well at higher temps), or yes, we occasionally use lard (from pastured animals) as well. People tend to look shocked when I tell them we use lard and I admit it isn’t exactly an appetizing word, but it is a traditional food that our ancestors survived on for centuries. Here’s more info on using unrefined oils – Mini-Pledge Week 10: No Refined Oils.

I am completely on-board with cutting out processed food, but how can I get my reluctant spouse and picky kids to join me?

No fear…because you are not alone! Here are a few posts on this very topic:

Where do you and your family live?

People are sometimes pleasantly surprised to learn that we do not live in a “real food” mecca like New York or California. Yep, we are just a regular ol’ suburban family living in Matthews, N.C., which is a suburb of Charlotte. You can find out more about our family on the “About Page.”

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Read My Story

We invite you to read along and hopefully join in as our family seeks out the real food in a processed food world. Our hope is since our family (that does not live on a farm, has two young children,…

My Cookbooks

I’m so excited to share all the info with you about the three cookbooks in my 100 Days of Real Food series. Each cookbook is unique and features its own content, from breaking down the science behind grains, to providing…